http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 32011.html
April 26, 2008, 8:21PM
Methodist rally in Fort Worth focuses on immigration

By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press

FORT WORTH — At a rally calling for open borders and better treatment of immigrants, several hundred Methodists last week simultaneously called their congressional representatives to voice their opposition to an immigration enforcement measure.

"We pray that this afternoon we might be a strong voice in favor of those who are immigrants today who suffer in river beds and who suffer in deserts and who suffer in borders, people all over the world forced into migration for the sake of survival," said the Rev. Minerva Carcano, bishop of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference.

The group opposes the SAVE Act, which would strengthen borders and require employers to verify that their workers are in the U.S. legally. The immigration bill is pending, entangled in election-year politics.

Some of the 350 people at the Thursday rally held signs reading "All human beings are legal," "We are one family" and "Take down the wall."

It was held outside the Fort Worth Convention Center, where more than 3,000 people are attending the United Methodist Church's general conference, held every four years.

Among the actions during the 10-day conference are making the church's policies on immigration more comprehensive to include global issues and address recent government legislation.